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Shirley Adams

Oliver Hermanus

South Africa 2009, 90 min.

Fiction

Spoken language: Afrikaans, English

Subtitles: English

Festival year: 2010

One year ago, Donovan was shot in the neck when he came home from school. Now, his mother Shirley Adams takes care of him. And that is no easy job, since Donovan is paralysed from the waist up. Her husband walked out on her and she had to sell all her possessions to pay the hospital bills for Donovan. And to make matters worse, the doctors consider that Shirley is not able to adequately care for her son. They’re not entirely wrong in their appreciation: Shirley is completely exhausted by looking after for Donovan all day. The hospital sends young Tamsin to help Shirley. Although she can definitely use some help, Shirley also feels threatened by the newcomer. Intimate and touching movie about the link between poverty and violence in South Africa.